Spreading the love ... of art
In challenging times it’s everyone’s responsibility to uphold Pasadena’s status as an arts Mecca
By Terry LeMoncheck 08/27/2009
Ah, fall. The Santa Anas will be blow-drying the San Gabriel Mountains soon, and the light, while there will be a little less of it, will take on a magazine-quality luminance perfectly suited to an outdoor meal on a restaurant patio or just grilling the last of the sweet corn in the backyard. We may not have dramatic palettes of fall foliage or the ability to wear wool this time of year, but what we do have, in spades, is an array of arts programming queuing up for the fall season that will, as always, confront, provoke, delight and stimulate.
Already gracing the One Colorado courtyard is Daniel Buren’s “A Rainbow in the Sky,” and on Sept. 12, another upwardly mobile artwork will be sky-written over the Arroyo Seco as Bruce Nauman’s “Untitled (Leave the Land Alone), 1969/2009.” Nauman and Buren — two extremely important, internationally known (and lauded) artists here this fall — exemplify what I say over and over to anyone who will listen: This is a world-class arts city, surviving and thriving despite the meltdown, ready to show off its powerful theater, tantalizing exhibitions and artistry in dance, music and spoken word.
Be sure also to look for this year’s Art & Ideas Festival, opening on Oct. 23, when the 2009 theme “Origins” will be interpreted throughout the city through a multitude of programs, exhibitions and performances, celebrating our nexus of art and science.
It has been said, however, that Pasadena’s cultural institutions are victims of their own success. There has always been room for more local support, but in this economy, arts organizations are looking for every nickel in the corners of the couch. We’ve all been hit hard, but arts types are nothing if not resourceful.
A few bright spots have shone through the clouds: The National Endowment for the Arts chose four Pasadena organizations for stimulus funding (including, I’m proud to report, the Pasadena Arts Council). There is new leadership in town — both Lorne Buchman, new president of Art Center College of Design, and Stephen Eich, new executive director of the Pasadena Playhouse, have the opportunity to lead legacy institutions on to new, brighter horizons. And Southern California Public Radio is completing a state-of-the-art new facility for 89.3-FM KPCC, which will house both the broadcast center and the administrative and fundraising divisions, in addition to a forum space dedicated to film screenings, lecture series and cultural performances.
That said, the struggles are still all too real. Pasadena defines itself as a city of arts and culture, but the arts have their hands pretty full right now just trying to keep the lights on. So I have three challenges for some local institutions to rise to the occasion.
Challenge No. 1: Arts journalism to match our world-class arts. I have a news flash for you editors out there: Calendar listings are not “covering the arts.” KPCC can really rise to the occasion in their new digs and report some of the important arts stories in Pasadena — at the very least by devoting some good space to that on their Web site. And by arts I mean visual, performing and literary arts. I would be the first to argue that film and television are art forms created by artists, but they get plenty of play in LA. And yoo-hoo, Pasadena Star-News? Let’s see some real quality cultural journalism on your pages. You too, PW. Living right here in Pasadena we have the director of two prestigious national arts journalism programs, Sasha Anawalt, and I’m betting that she’d be willing to give us an earful about how we can do better. I’ll offer the Pasadena Arts Council to organize and host a conversation on this subject.
Challenge No. 2: A go/no-go decision on the public art proposed for the plaza of the new Pasadena Center. If you’re an arts, political or local news junkie, you know that two highly original pieces of sculpture by influential artists Hans Peter Kuhn and Dennis Oppenheim were slated to enliven the oh-so-empty space along Green Street, only to be bogged down in a bureaucratic tar pit. The long-suffering Arts & Culture Commission has done what it was asked to do, only to have the issue put on the way-back burner. One City Council member should agendize the decision, the council can hear what the community has to say and then they can bring it to a vote — yea or nay. At least that way the commission, the city’s Cultural Affairs Division, the folks who run the Convention Center, the artists in question and the public will know where things stand and either move forward or move on.
Challenge No. 3: Marketing support for cultural organizations, and more robust marketing of the city as a cultural destination overall. I was recently in the Bay Area and took note of jazzy banners along the approach to the Oakland Airport proclaiming that city as an arts and culture hotspot. Aren’t our museums and theaters at least as good as Oakland’s? At a meeting earlier this year with Pasadena cultural leaders, City Manager Michael Beck promised to be part of a task force to look at branding Pasadena as an arts Mecca. OK, Michael, we are ready to begin that process — especially critical now, since the director of cultural tourism for the city was recently downsized out.
What everyone else can do, of course, is be confronted, provoked, delighted and stimulated. Read this Fall Arts Preview issue and write up your must-see list. Then pick one other arts offering you were iffy about and see that too.
Terry LeMoncheck is executive director of the Pasadena Arts Council.
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